WRITTEN QUESTION No. 2952/98 by Gerhard HAGER to the Commission. Notification requirement
Date: 1998-10-08
Institutions: European Parliament, HAGER
Subjects: Austria, packaging, technical standard, waste recycling

14.5.1999

EN

Official Journal of the European Communities

C 135/145

(1999/C 135/177)

WRITTEN QUESTION E-2952/98

by Gerhard Hager (NI) to the Commission

(8 October 1998)

Subject: Notification requirement

According to Article 8 of Council Directive 83/189/EEC (1) of 28 March 1983 the Member States are
required to communicate to the Commission any draft ‘technical’ regulation within the meaning of the
directive. In my view the Austrian Regulation on the avoidance and recovery of packaging waste and
specific residues and the establishment of collection and recovery systems (VerpackVO 1996) BGB1 II
No 232/1997 should be covered by this provision.

Is the Austrian regulation covered by the notification requirement in the Directive?

If so, when was it communicated?

If it was not, what are the legal implications of this omission?

(1) OJ L 109, 26.4.1983, p. 8.

Answer given by Mr Bangemann on behalf of the Commission

(4 November 1998)

The two texts the Honourable Member refers to were notified to the Commission at draft stage in
accordance with Article 16(1) of European Parliament and Council Directive 94/62/EC of 20 December
1994 on packaging and packaging waste. (1)

Both were draft measures which Austria was planning to adopt in the context of Directive 94/62/EC.
Pursuant to Article 16(1) of Directive 94/62/EC, the Austrian authorities were thus bound to notify them in
accordance with the procedure laid down in Council Directive 83/189/EEC of 28 March 1983 laying down
a procedure for the provision of information in the field of technical standards and regulations (2) (which
has since become Directive 98/34/EC of the European Parliament and of the Council of 22 June 1998 (3)).

The draft Decree of the Federal Minister for Environment, Youth and the Family on the avoidance and
recycling of packaging waste and of certain goods residues and the establishment of collection and
recycling schemes (VerpackVO 1996) was first notified on 27 August 1996 (notification number
96/332/A). The adopted text was published in the Austrian official gazette (BGBl No 648/1996 of
29 November 1996).

A new version of the same Decree (VerpackVO 1997) was notified at draft stage on 1 April 1997
(notification number 97/156/A). The definitive text was published in BGBl II No 232/1997.

(1) OJ L 365, 31.12.1994.
(2) OJ L 109, 26.4.1983.
(3) OJ L 204, 21.7.1998.

(1999/C 135/178)

WRITTEN QUESTION E-2959/98

by Alexandros Alavanos (GUE/NGL) to the Commission

(8 October 1998)

Subject: Social security rights of workers in the tobacco industry in Greece

The EU’s imposition of acreage quotas on tobacco-growing in Greece has reduced tobacco production and
the level of employment in the industry, which had already been cut by advances in technology. The effect
of this has been to put workers’ expectations of retirement under threat since, through reducing the
number of days of insurance contributions and increasing the inordinate number of years of contributions
required (now 40), it is possible that they may not be able to retire on a pension.